Riding High

So last week Tuesday, as you well know, it was my birthday. On the Tuesday I spent the day exploring the city filling the space between the mooching/shopping with eating. I started my morning in the Flatiron District with a gorgeous brunch at Nomad. Followed by afternoon tea at the new Laduree Teahouse in Soho, ending with dinner at Tertulia in the West Village. It was a fantastic day.

The Saturday before Hipster Dufus' friend very generously offered to take us on a plane ride to celebrate my old age. However it turned out to be somewhat of a disaster. While I'm starting to settle in very well, every so often the city throws me a curveball and reminds me that I still have a long way to go. So what happened? Well I allowed myself to think that I could invite enough people to my house for drinks. This gathering was supposed to follow a quick whiz in the plane, making for quite an epic day. The morning of, it decides to snow. So the plane was out. And during the day the inevitable cancellations started pouring in. Feeling like a Susie-no-mates and NOT dealing with the whole "it's my birthday" thing very well, I decided to do everyone a favor and cancel. By this point I was waiting on 3 people...

However this weekend Hipster Dufus' friend followed through on his offer and off we went. This time the route would take us all around New York. Starting in Coney Island, circling the Statue of Liberty ending up in a full on approach towards Manhattan. I think the photos really speak for themselves, there 's no better way to see the city. The view from up above is breathtaking. It's like seeing your very own opening credits to a film set in New York except this time, after two hours the screen doesn't fade to black.

My unnecessary apology to the ones I love

I did have another blog post all set and ready to go for this weekend but then something happened that made me want to write about the most painful aspect of being abroad. That feeling of helplessness and being left out. I miss you guys. Yes it's soppy but only when it's because I want to hang out in all my favorite bars, cafes, pubs, restaurants. When it's painful, is when it's attached that feeling of helplessness. I hate not being there. I hate not being able to share your high and more importantly your lows.

Friends, I want to apologize for not being there for your achievements and special moments. The worst being those who are getting married. It bums me out that I can't make it back for your special days. It's something that you never think of, it's all about what you're going to wear and how much the train ticket is to wherever it's located. Not so when there's a seven hour flight beforehand. Money literally is not growing out of my butt. I would love to hop over every time there's a celebration but after the third engagement I realized that I have to let go. I don't live there anymore. I'm only here for a short while, but during that time I can't live with one foot in London and the other in New York.

This post also doubles up as an open letter to my little brother. I loved being there for you. Being your rock and someone that you could turn to. I'm sorry that I'm not there right now. But only physically. My thoughts, my heart, my mind is alway with you. I want you to take a breath, take a minute and give me a call. There's no difference in calling me here or in London. Take advantage of the positive side of technology. The one that allows us to communicate for free. I'm from the generation of calling cards and this new world makes communicating so much easier. Technology is really a beautiful thing, it takes the big wide world and transforms it into a close intimate moment. I'm always available to take your call.

An ode to Nina

Birds flying high, you know how I feel, this is the opening line of Nina Simone's 'Feeling Good', and perfectly summed up my feeling today. Hipster Dufus has a friend/colleague who is a trained pilot and offered to take us to the beautiful Block Island which is part of the U.S state of Rhode Island. This obviously fitting in with Hipster Dufus's need to always get out of the city meant that we jumped at the opportunity. The island itself was your typical quaint, gorgeous, seaside town. Ice cream shops, fudge shops and lots's of nautical related souvenir stores. Nothing particularly new but a perfect escape from the intensity of the city.

The real experience was the flight. I've never been in a little plane and was really scared. But the journey was smooth and Hipster Dufus' friend was an excellent, reassuring pilot. In a little plane the sensation of flying is heightened, if only because you can look out of a window on both sides. On the way back I got to fly in the front! THAT WAS AMAZING. I got to control the plane a little, moving left and right, and trying to maintain the plane level (there were obviously two steering sticks and he was always ready to steer the plane in the right direction). The best part was the view upfront, being able to look directly ahead really felt like you were flying. At one point we punched through some clouds with clear views on the other side. It was incredible. It literally felt like you were flying.

This is the best part of being here, it's the opportunity to have all of these different experiences, exploring new places as well as the people that you meet. As we pulled back into New York greeted with the view of the skyline it really hit us all. This city is amazing, I just feel so blessed to be here. And yeah, I'm feeling really good.

Why Ambassador...

Hello everyone, I survived my Ferrero Rocher lunch. Thank you all so much for your input on the dress dilemma, I'm such a big girl! In the end the burnt peach and lace dress had equal nominations so Hipster Dufus had the deciding vote. He decided on the lace. As for the lunch, it was lovely and just really confirmed that my analysis of the diplomatic life is accurate. It's basically networking at a government level. I was sat at the same table as the Ambassadors wife who was lovely and told us many stories about meetings with the PM and the Ambassador's upcoming meeting with none other than our Majesty the Queen.

Their house was gorgeous, priceless art hanging on all the walls, the furniture was spotless with not so much as a crease on anything. At one point Hipster Dufus put his coffee cup on their spotless white window sill and my heart literally stopped. I found myself uttering the most alien words to come out of my mouth "darling perhaps let's not be the ones responsible for staining the Ambassador's house..." That was it, my transition into fully fledged diplomats wife is well and truly underway. All I need is to host an dinner/afternoon tea while wearing some floral concoction and I'm there. And I swear I feel it coming. Now I would have loved to have taken some photos inside their amazing apartment with its sweeping views across the river, but it would have been highly unacceptable to have whipped out a camera and start snapping away. The only memento I brought back was my place name which included this lovely gold embossed crest.

The waiting game

Most of you know that recently Hipster Dufus purchased me this beautiful MacBook Air. I've already detailed my issues with lot being able to use it and the same still stands now. We've been busy finding out more about where we live and getting to know the surrounding areas. I still can't post though... Major bummer...

How to keep in contact

The last time I posted I was boarding a plane and almost a week later and I still hadn't posted anything. So what happened? Some of you might be aware that my wonderful husband, Hipster Dufus, purchased me an all powerfull MacBook Air. Just in time for me not to be able to do much as squeak about not being able to contact people. I did however encounter two problems.

The first being the internet, we still have not had it installed in our new home which means i have no way of posting items. What about cafes with wifi? This brings me on to my second problem, Microsoft Office. As you know Mac's do not come with office and while we do have it already, the CD license is currently somewhere in the Atlantic as part of our sea freight.

Thankfully the iPhone can be a powerful little tool, and while I wouldn't want to use it all the time I found a few apps that will still let me post almost in the same style I currently use, from taking the photos, editing to composing a post and sharing it. So can I get away with it? Here are just a few shots from my first week as a New Yorker.

Bon Voyage

This is it, literally sitting on the plane right now. I've had a very emotional goodbye with family and I don't think I'm done yet. Going to sit back, watch a film, cry, sleep. Then I'll see you on the other side. Let's do this!

Keep on moving

After years of hoping, months of planning, weeks of waiting, days of organising and hours of cleaning finally the night has come. This is the night before the flight. Hipster Dufus and I have literally just finished the last few things we needed to complete now. I'm tired, exhausted, and mentally drained. I'm not sure what to feel now, all I know is that it doesn't feel quite real just yet. Every stage has simply been met with a new wave of emotions.

There was the anxiety of having the flat in piles in a corner waiting for the arrival of the removal men (who never actually showed up, they forgot they were supposed to come...) Then there was the numbness from watching strangers pack up your life, and before you know it all your possessions are simply sitting in pile of cardboard boxes. Finally the most daunting one has got to be the feeling of an empty flat. Imagine what you felt when you first moved into your home unfurnished. It's the same feeling but in reverse. Bewilderment. What do I do now? Everything echoes, time drags (this is probably the lack of T.V. or CD player) and your home doesn't feel like yours any more.

Well that was a bit of a rant really! It wouldn't be real if I made it out to be amazing. The prospect of a new city is incredible but what comes before is not so fun. The process hasn't been easy and we haven't received much help from relevant organisations. I was expecting it to be better planned, to go a lot more smoothly especially since this is a regular occurrence. What we found is that no one really cares. Everyone has a job to do and they don't care about what that means for you as the person that has to live this life, everyone is simply out to tick boxes. I have to say that at this point I'm really looking forward to the other side.